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The book, developed by a committee of writers, editors, and publishers, is organized around five major categories, Preparing an Article for Publication, Style, Terminology, Measurement and Quantitation, and Technical Information. Each of these categories is, in turn, broken down into chapters that probe various aspects of each category. Finding information is easy, and the writers have used examples generously to make the points clear.
The first section, Preparing an Article for Publication, is, naturally slanted more toward authors and those who toil to prepare author's manuscripts for publication. There are many guidelines offering advice that ranges from preparing the abstract to preparing any of six different types of acknowledgments. Editors and copy editors would do well to review this chapter as well. The section on citing Web sites alone is crucial reading.
I suspect, but cannot prove, that many researchers will not read deeply beyond the opening chapter, feeling that the remaining sections are more the province of copy editors and journal editors. Perhaps there is some merit to that line of thinking, but all authors in the medical sciences would benefit from the copious advice here, and the better writers, I'm sure, do follow the principles of grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and usage set forth in the section on style. Common mistakes, such as confusing case and patient, redundancies, and the ever so ticklish topic of race/ethnicity are some of the many points discussed thoroughly.
The section on terminology is so mind-bogglingly detailed that all one can hope to do is remember that the AMA Style Guide will almost always have the answer if you have a question about an abbreviation (how many times is something mistakenly called an acronym instead of an initialism?), medical nomenclature (a huge chapter that is the heart of the book), or eponyms (which, thanks to this guide may now be a topic we can quit haggling over).
Measurement and Quantitation continue to be a bane for many writers and editors, though without delving too much into specifics, let's say that this section will answer most questions but not without careful reading and perhaps a look at the Chicago Manual of Style for a bit clearer presentation on this topic. The chapter on statistics, unique to this guide, notes how to express confidence intervals, confirms that the word Student in Student t test is capitalized (sorry, but this text editor on Amazon.com does not display the italic t), provides a list of statistical symbols and abbreviations, and offers valuable tips about displaying equations. And those examples barely hint at the wealth of information here.
A final section on technical information provides a thumbnail guide to good layout and design of printed materials, worthy sets both of copyediting marks and proofreading marks (which are no doubt often photocopied and posted in a visible location), an excellent primer on how to edit hard copy, and a glossary of publishing terms.
If you are a medical writer or editor, odds are that you already either have a copy of this guide or you borrow one from a colleague. If you are an aspiring medical communicator, you will need your own copy so you can mark in it, attach tabs, and leave open on your desk.
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It's a well known story. Of course, it's that Jane Austen world (which Austen pokes endlessly at) with the social artifaces, the endless gossiping, and clever schemes on how to get married, particularly to someone rich. Here, it is the Bennet sisters trying to get themselves hitched, and the central character is the spirited Elizabeth who clashes with (sometimes) arrogant, stuffy Darcy.
Pride and Prejudice is so entertaining on different levels. It is so funny! The characters (especially Mr. and Mrs. Bennet) are so eccentrically funny, and some of the situations Elizabeth gets into are hilarious. Austen's little asides about the local society are subtly cutting, too. Then, there are all of the brilliant characterizations and their changing relationships. Also, I'm always drawn to Austen's little theme of love's ability to break through the mess of a shallow society. I truly love everything about this little novel. It'll certainly alway keep a special place on my bookshelf (or by my bed).
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You know what the funniest thing about this book is? Everything in it is true...from the different kinds of nuns to Father What-a-Waste (sigh); from the description of mortal and venial sins to the purchasing of pagan babies. Well, they don't sell pagan babies anymore, but they did in my mother's day.
Even a staunch Catholic like my grandmother would have to crack a smile at the descriptive, colorful language and the abfab portrayal of the sometimes ridiculous traditions of the world's most scandalous, under-fire church. This book is a must-read for all Roman Catholics, practicing or no.
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After placing an advertisement in a paper, she is hired on as a governess at Thornfield where she meets and falls in love with Edward Fairfax Rochester. But a series of odd and dangerous events which take place at Thornfield succeed in tearing them apart until Jane realizes that she must journey alone or else compromise her own sense of self forever.
Jane Eyre is a novel about a woman who comes to realize that she must hold on to herself. Bronte's heroine is strong, willful, and isolated. Her hero is constantly referring to her in an otherworldly sense. But what he sees is otherworldly is simply a strong independent streak. This independence is what the author seems to urge women to cultivate through the character of Jane Eyre. Bronte reinforces the strength of Jane's character by making her plain. By doing this, she forces us to realize the beauty of her character rather than her looks. She has none to recommend her and no fortune to appeal to a man so the reader is certain that it is her character which appeals to Rochester.
The road towards a happy ending is not easy for Rochester and Jane. In fact, even before discovering the truth about the woman in the attic, Jane has taken measures to preserve herself by writing to her uncle in Madeira even though she tells Rochester that she has no family aside from the Reeds, whose connection to her she is forced to admit when Aunt Reed calls for her. This perpetuates the unraveling of their happiness. From the point of separation, however, Bronte sets Jane on the road to self-discovery. With her Rivers cousins, whom she discovers after leaving Thornfield, she comes to realize her full capacity as a cousin, a teacher, and her potential as a servant of God.
By the story's end, when Bronte has led her title character back to a devastated Thornfield, Jane is truly independent in both character as well as finance. There is a role reversal which the reader discovers. No longer is Rochester offering to take care of her, it is Jane, rather, who is in the position of power as she becomes Rochester's helpmeet from the time of their reunion.
In other words they did not want us to become exact mental, emotional and social clones or mere automatons of a Federal Government "1984" mentality run amuck. People like Earl Warren and Warren Burger succeeded in putting us on that destructive hedonistic and anti-American coarse by hijacking the judiciary.
Local control as Patrick Henry and Thomas Paine advocated, would undeniably put the decision making process in the hands of the voters and real-democracy at the lowest levels, they did not believe in Stare Decisis which kills a true ever-changing democracy. They wanted the "one person one vote" majority-rule concept to flourish on a local level, instead of having a federal government, which steals that basic right, concept and liberty at every opportunity by manipulating entities at every level and corrupting the courts.
Certainly government at the federal level was and still is necessary for some very basic issues, like those identified in the Preamble to the Constitution for instance, but never at the level it is at today.
It all comes back to that corrupting influence of power. I found it strange that he did not speak of term-limits as a counterbalancing protection for his Juris Naturalis ideology, the only real protection to saved us from the decline in founding principles as society grew, matured, evolved and became corrupted. A corruption that transformed the philosophy of the people, by the people, and for the people; to one of me, we, our party and an "our cause only mentality."
As much as I enjoyed his wit, humor, intelligent discourse and insight, which will undoubtedly cause me to read the rest of his books, which I highly recommend as a Middle School introduction to all his subjects, I could not possibly agree with all his teachings, opinions and/or assertions. Perhaps it is just that in his attempt to cover so many bases he seemed to have numerous contradictory comments that makes one stop and say wait a minute that is just not true.
For instance he asked, "has anyone ever suggested to you that government may not be necessary?" That is a foolish question today, of coarse it is.
He also asserts for instance that the right wants to stamp out sin and the left wants to stamp out inequality of wealth. These are interesting assertions but facades and falsehoods and assumptions that have no real basis. Those comments could be just as easily phrased like this, "the right wants to make people merit conscious and responsible for their actions by teaching morality and the left wants to rob from those who work to give to those who don't. Both of these statements would be equally as true, but give a completely different impression to the reader.
How can the left be said to believe in stamping out the inequality of wealth when so many of them, and I do mean, many of them, are filthy rich and getting richer every day at the expense of the poor and middle class in America. They are in fact the arrogant Aristocracy of the western civilization so hated by the Middle East. It is not our government or our true American values and culture that the Middle Easterners hate so much, but the liberal rich people and their hedonistic tendencies, policies and activities that irk them so much. When someone asks why Islam hates America it is simply because of liberal ideologies, policies and programs. It is as simple as that.
When I see Ted Turner, Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, Barbara Streisand, Dianne Feinstein, Ted Kennedy, Steven Speilberg, Hugh Hefner and several thousand other left-wing liberal icons give away their millions and/or billions and live on what I make, I will change my opinion of the left. But for today I disagree with Mr. Maybury's assertion about the goal of liberals, wanting to fix any inequalities, they create them.
They want power and the ability to oppress others at any cost and sit in their Eiffel towers dictating socialistic and hedonistic principle and rules of conduct on the rest of us peons. In others words I believe his definition of "Fascist" more aptly fits the modern day liberal than the word "liberal" does, and I would put fascist at the far left end of his scale rather than the right end, but hey it is his book.
There are many other inconsistencies of thought and assertion in his writings, but nothing significant enough to recommend skipping this truly enjoyable book. I have ordered and will most certainly read all the others as well, but with a critical eye. I truly enjoyed his work, with only minimal reservations, because I do read everything with the critical eye he instructs his readers to use.
As a series of books for beginners in politics, social issues and economic studies I can stand by the four star rating and highly recommend his thought provoking comments to those from all political persuasions. After reading this book I would have to classify myself as a Nationalistic Juris Naturalis of the Original "Classical Liberal" Judeo-Christian Founding Fathers Persuasion. Wow, what a mouthfull. Where are you in the mix?
982 Words
p.s i also recommend evaluating books: what would thomas jefferson think about this,and whatever happened to penny candy?
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I would recommend his other titles -- "In the American West" for example -- if you want to see the full-size, stunning photographs for which Avedon is famous.
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